Monthly Archives: December 2017

The Weekly  Update

Week of December 25, 2017
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

As we headed into the long holiday weekend, the markets continued to climb as tax reform moved forward. For the week, the S&P 500 closed up 0.29%, the Dow rose 0.43%, and the NASDAQ gained 0.35%. International stocks in the MSCI EAFE increased by 1.23%.

Before leaving for his holiday vacation, President Trump signed a new tax bill and a measure to temporarily delay a possible government shutdown. Supporters of the $1.5 trillion tax cut, which dramatically reduces the corporate tax rate, believe it will encourage businesses to invest, hire more workers, and increase wages. Some companies are already celebrating by offering bonuses to their employees and promising to improve infrastructure in the workplace.

Tax Bill Highlights

The historic bill is the largest tax revamp in more than 30 years and makes several changes to the federal tax system, including:

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Happy Holidays from your friends at CTS Financial Group

Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away (Vicki Corona). Wishing you a holiday season filled with treasured moments.

Enjoy our new holiday video http://bit.ly/2jUjB5y

The Weekly Update

Week of December 18, 2017
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

Domestic markets were up last week as tax reform became more likely. On Friday, several previously undecided Senators announced they would back the combined House and Senate bill, and stocks reacted by hitting new record highs. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.92%, the Dow added 1.33%, and the NASDAQ grew by 1.41%. International stocks in the MSCI EAFE increased 0.13%.

The House and Senate may vote on the tax plan this week, and if it passes, many changes will be on the horizon, including the corporate tax rate dropping from 35% to 21% in 2018. Anticipation of this change has contributed to the many record highs we’ve seen in the domestic markets this year.

However, while tax reform was a major topic last week, we also received a number of other economic updates. Two key events are …

The Weekly Update

Week of December 11, 2017
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

As the holiday season progresses, the markets continue to impress. Last week, many energy, financial, and industrial sector stocks helped drive performance. Hitting record highs yet again, the S&P gained 0.35%, and the Dow jumped 0.40% for the week. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ fell slightly by 0.11%, and the MSCI EAFE rose 0.08%.

Solid labor market conditions and a rebounding retail climate are helping to support the economy as the year closes. Here are some developments that stood out last week:

Promising Labor Market Numbers

Encouraging news came on Friday when we learned that nonfarm payroll jobs rose more than expected in November, coming in at 228,000. Manufacturers have created almost 200,000 new jobs in the last 12 months and 1 million new factory jobs since 2010. We have now had 86-straight months of job gains, the longest stretch in U.S. …

The Weekly Update

Week of December 4, 2017
By Christopher Much, CFP®, AIF®

Markets went for a wild ride last week—especially on Friday. In fact, on December 1, the S&P 500 had its largest fluctuations since the day after the 2016 presidential election.

Nonetheless, two of the major domestic markets hit new record highs on Thursday and ended the week with sizable gains. The S&P 500 added 1.53% and the Dow gained 2.86%. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ lost 0.60% and international stocks in the MSCI EAFE gave back 0.95%.

What drove markets last week?

Politics played a large role in market performance last week with big developments on tax reform and the Russia investigation.

• Tax Reform
  On Thursday, news that the Senate bill was more likely to pass contributed to the Dow and S&P 500 closing at record highs. Early Saturday morning, the Senate did end up voting in favor of the proposal.
• Russia Investigation
  On …